Battle of the Beauties
by CammieMorgan24
Summary: From the moment District One's girl was reaped into the Hunger games, it was clear no one could surpass her beauty. But then came District 12's tribute, who trumped all tributes in the history of the Games. It was always going to come down to this. The Battle of the Beauties.


Those emerald eyes – in any other situation I would admire for their beauty – bore into mine. Anger radiated through them and they clouded in determination.

_"It's so good to meet you. You made such an entrance the other night at the tribute Parade. Care to tell us about that outfit?" Ceasar Flickerman seemed to emit a feeling of pure joy at meeting the famous Girl on Fire – me._

_Smiling, I enthusiastically answered. "Well, I sure wasn't expecting to wear something so magnificent! I'm sure you've noticed the traditional costume for my district, so my hopes weren't too high. But I am so glad Cinna came through with such a stunning dress." _

_As I spoke, the screens around me showed shot after shot of my Tribute Parade costume. Thick bands tied around my neck supported the dress, which was gathered at my waist before flowing out into a rippling inferno. The jewels encrusted over it flickered in the Capitol lights, and the longer back made the fire trail behind me, as opposed to the short front which added to the girly look Haymitch had requested. The capitol audience ooh-ed and ahhh-ed in admiration before Ceasar demanded their attention back on me._

_"And I see he has done it again!" He motioned toward tonights outfit._

_"He sure has." I stood up gracefully and twirled around as the layered dress flickered like candlelight. Similar in style to my first one, I was now swathed in golden material which slid fluidly around my thin body. As I steadied myself and took my seat once more, Ceasar shocked me in his next comment._

_"I think it's a fair bet to say you are the most beautiful tribute the Hunger Games has ever seen." I caught my breath, eyes wide in shock._

_"No – no I don't think so." I looked down at my hands as he tried to reassure me that I -in fact- was._

_That night, watching the re-plays, I had noticed a shot of the other tributes right after Ceasar's comment, and my eyes were drawn to one in particular. District One's female tribute, Glimmer. She was beautiful in every way. Her hair was long and pure gold, her eyes bright and body perfectly curved. Her silver dress hugged her body tightly and showed off her natural beauty. What had caught my eye, however, was her expression. She radiated pure anger and hatred. At me. Rightfully, she was the most beautiful. She was also a career. I was nothing but a Seam girl from District 12. And I was going to steal her sponsors._

And here she was again with the same expression directed at me.

"Hello, Twelve." She sneered.

"Glimmer." I nodded in recognition at her, trying desperately to hide the fear in my voice.

"Looks like it's come down to the battle of the beauties, then." We were the last two tributes left, standing at opposite ends of the cornucopia. The final showdown was about to begin.

"Looks like it." I agreed half-heartedly, dreading the next few minutes. I had survived the whole Games without hurting anyone, and I knew this was about to change, as I had no plans of dying just yet.

Thankfully, Glimmer felt like dragging it out – giving the audience a good show. "I have to admit, I never thought you'd make it this far. You should've been a goner at the bloodbath." Her voice was dripping with hostility as she casually tied her hair up.

My fingers were twitching, ready to move if need-be, but I went along with her little game, dragging out the last battle. "Yeah, well I'm a fast runner." I shrugged.

"There's nowhere to run now, Girl on Fire." She motioned to the side of the cornucopia where a pack of mutts were trying to leap up and reach us.

I panicked. I had a selection of weapons in my pack, but that had been ditched as I fled the mutts. All I had now was a large bag over my shoulder, which I had collected at the Feast, but hadn't yet opened.

Glimmer made a show of unclipping a selection of spears from her back and sharpening them, so I once again played along. I slipped the bag off my back and slowly opened it, curious as to it's contents, but keeping a weary eye on Glimmer.

To my delight, the pack contained a silky material I instantly recognised from the defence station in the Training Centre. I couldn't recall its name, but I knew it had remarkable qualities as armour and was extremely difficult to come by.

I pulled it out and slipped it over my head as quickly as possible. It was an exact fit, moulding over my tank top easily, yet staying tight to my upper body, and extending like a skirt a few inches below the end of my shirt. I glanced back in the bag and found a thick leather belt laden with knives. There must have been over twenty circling my waist once I had fastened it on.

Glimmer was eyeing me as she selected a lethal looking spear and took a menacing stance. "You must have a lot of sponsors." She had a hint of jealousy as she eyed my possessions.

"They come in handy." I shrugged. It didn't look like she had as many as I. Her arms had long gashes which could easily be infected by now, and her clothes were torn to rags. Perhaps she had just been in more fights than me. I had tried to avoid all other tributes, whereas the Careers usually go tribute hunting.

"Let's get this over with, shall we?" I questioned, freeing three knives from their sheaths and readying myself for the fight.

"Yes, I'm much looking forward to having a shower." She glanced at herself and looked disgusted as she wrinkled her nose. I couldn't help but crack a smile at this, and she returned it, before quickly hardening her face again. "You know, I'm sorry it's come to this. We could've been friends."

A tiny tear rolled down my face as I nodded. "I'm sorry, too, but I really have to get home." I couldn't hide the desperation in my voice.

We exchanged a quick glance before we each changed our stances to be ready. Both of us had long range weapons, so it wasn't certain who would come out on top.

As Glimmer pulled back her arm, I panicked and started running toward her, knife at the ready. Evidently confused, she tried adjusting her aim, but I was too close. She dropped the spear and reached for the sword hanging at her side.

I threw my first knife as I ran and it sliced her hand open. Groaning, she didn't slow down, but pulled her sword out of its sheath and faced me. We were not far apart now, and I could see the fear in her eyes and feel it mirrored in myself.

She swung wildly at me and I ducked as the sword missed me by mere centimetres. I straightened up and unsheathed a longer knife, gripping it tightly and ready to attack. Glimmer's sword came back at me the other way and I blocked it with my knife, before drawing it back and lunging at her. I stabbed her stomach, as her sword collided with my arm, with much less force than she was capable of.

I let out a scream and clutched my arm, scurrying backward. Glimmer dropped her sword to pull the knife out of her, her face screwed up in agony.

She gritted her teeth and advanced toward me. I pulled out a dagger with my other arm and prepared to defend myself, although tears were streaming down my face.

We circled one another for a long time before Glimmer started turning pale from blood loss. I felt terrible seeing that and muttered a weak apology which she couldn't possibly have heard. She took a desperate lunge at me, but I twisted out of the way, automatically thrusting the dagger into her back. She gasped and fell forward breathing deeply.

I stood frozen in shock and terror, until I finally registered her moans of pain. I rushed to her side and turned her onto her back, once I had removed the dagger. I knew she would bleed out sooner with it gone, but I thought the quicker, the better.

Kneeling by her, I apologised over and over until she interrupted me in a painful whisper. "It's all for the Games." She reassured me, obviously pardoning me from what I had done to her. "Congratulations."

A cannon blast signalled her end. I walked to the other end of the cornucopia, turned and extended my left hand, three fingers outstretched in a salute to the fallen Tribute.

Trumpets sounded. A voice rang out across the arena. A hovercraft landed. I hardly notice any of it, bar one sentence.

"The Victor of the 72th Hunger Games – Primrose Everdeen!"


End file.
